Igbo Religion

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe discusses the rise of an Igbo chieftain who came from great poverty to power and the eventual loss of Igbo traditions, rites, and the influence of his clan through his eyes due to western imperialism and colonialism. The intended audience for this novel is very broad, but if we tried to define it would primarily be people who have not experienced the Igbo culture and westerners or people who speak English. In this essay I will be focusing on the last six chapters: chapters 20 to 25. These chapters highlight the loss of power and customs of the Igbo people who have succumb to colonial rule. I fell Achebe is rhetorically effective and

A form of order and stability are essential for the continued existence of any society. Order and stability are often maintained through religious traditions and societal expectations. Conflicting ideologies however, can lead to a society’s stability being jeopardised. Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ explores the concept of societal stability in reference to the West African Ibo society. Through the use of omniscient narration, characterisation, juxtaposition and novel structure, he examines how order can be achieved through religion and societal expectations, and how instability can arise from conflicting ideologies.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, religion, an indispensable tradition is celebrated within the Igbo people. The Igbo people, hosts gatherings, worship, and celebrate their ancestors. They are polytheistic, in other words, they believe in many gods. The Igbo people also believe in sacrifices to their ancestors and crimes are considered as sins. Their ancestors and gods serve as a role model, or a sculpture, to whom they worship and sacrifice in Igbo society. However, the arrival of the European Missionaries not only brings tremendous changes to Igbo religion and culture, but also creates conflicts among them.

Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is a story of a traditional village in Nigeria from inside Umuofia around the late 1800s. This novel depicts late African history and shows how the British administrative structure, in the form of the European Anglican Church, imposed its religion and trappings on the cultures of Africa, which they believed was uncivilized. This missionary zeal subjugated large native populations. Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by

Achebe uses the tribe’s spirituality as a beacon of relation to the western reader. Often times, westerners believe that African culture and spirituality is riddled with mysticism and voodoo, however, Achebe describes it differently through the use of imagery. In this quote, Achebe explains The Feast of the New Yam, and its importance to the Umuofia people. “It was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility. Ani played a greater part in the life of people than any other deity.” (Achebe 36). To the Umuofia, Ani was their explanation of where their vibrant crops and healthy lives arose

In a society, religion is supposed to unite people that share a common belief and create peace, but in Umuofia and the other villages in Nigeria, it tears everyone and everything apart. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo religion was dominant in Umuofia prior to the Christian missionaries arrival. Everyone followed its teachings, despite how they made them feel. The villagers did what the religious figure (the Oracle) told them to, even if that meant killing someone that they loved. As a result of this, some relationships between people were changed. Despite some of the harsh teachings from the Igbo religion, society was united with a universal belief system. However, the day that the first Christian missionary arrived, this would forever be changed. Not only did the new religion transform relationships between people as well as change people individually (just like the Igbo religion did in some cases), but it also brought destruction to Umuofia and its neighboring villages. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe argues that religion has the power to destruct and change relationships, convince people to convert, and to break apart a society.

In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces his readers to the Nigerian village Umuofia and its culture through the protagonist, Okonkwo, a well respected Umuofian leader. Umuofian culture is centered around pleasing and respecting spiritual life. Everything within this culture and religion has a specific order; however, the Umuofian culture ultimately reaches its demise when Evangelists arrive to convert the Umuofians to Christianity. As seen through the events that transpire in this novel, from Nwoye leaving his family to letting the osu have a place in society, religion has the potential to both build and break a society. Specifically, religion has the power to break apart families, introduce new ideas into society, and bring hope into one’s life.

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people” (“Mahatma Gandhi Quotes” 1). The culture of a certain tribe, clan or group of people is not found written anywhere but it is found in the knowledge of its people because that is what they’ve grown up to learn. To them that is the only way they know. In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, the people of Umuofia keep their culture close to what it was when it was discovered by their ancestors. The only changes that they made were made to fit the community as time had changed since their ancestors had been alive. However, their beliefs and morals remained relatively the same because that is what they have been taught for as long as the Ibo tribe has been around. These beliefs are all they know and they all live by them. Throughout Achebe’s piece, it is evident that he wants to emphasize the distinct Ibo culture in this book. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe stresses the importance of culture to a community by using cultural aspects such as, the Ibo language, their religion, and the traditions of the Ibo people.

In “Things Fall Apart” Achebe talks about two different religions and beliefs. The Igbo society believe in many gods which some of their gods are focused on nature. They worship the earth and try not to dishonor the earth. They don't only worship nature gods but their ancestors are important gods and worship them for their guidance. When the missionaries arrive with their religion “Christianity” the Igbo society is wrecked. The missionaries believe in one supreme god. The god that is the creator of the world believing that men goes for judgement before him when he dies. As Achebe argues “In Things Fall Apart” that British colonialism has a disregard for Igbo Religion, tradition, and government. The British didn't acknowledge how the Igbo society were being

After the missionaries arrived, many Igbo people converted to Christianity; because of this, a majority of modern Igbo people are Christian, and even some Igbo people practice “a syncretic version of Christianity intermingled with indigenous beliefs” (“Igbo”). However, there were some negative effects on the religion. Christian reforms and attempts to destroy the religion caused less integration and unity between the Igbo people (Okeke et al. 9). While the religion was not completely forgotten, a majority of the Igbo have abandoned traditional

A major aspect of one’s society is religion. Without it, the way people hold themselves accountable would be nonexistent. In addition, many moral standards that exist today are values taken directly from religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Currently, there exists a feud between people who believe in a god, and of those who do not. Eventually those who believe in a higher power will fight against each other. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe brings to light the differences and similarities of Christianity and Animism in order to demonstrate the effects of religion upon one’s society, which is exemplified by Okonkwo and his people. This is noticed in the lives of the Ibo, the missionaries, and

During Pre-colonial Igbo culture, the foundations of festival and holiday celebration were established with one very special festival called the “New Yam Festival” being the most important celebrations in Igboland. According to “Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries”, the “New Yam festival is celebrated between August and October in order of thanking the gods for a good harvest and provides opportunity for a social gathering of tribes (Heritage and Culture). Religion is exceedingly important to the Igbo’s and the yam crop also known as the “king crop” measured wealth in ancient Igbo society which is why the festival is highly significant. Based on the book “Things Fall Apart” the most important god which tied to the festival was “Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility” (Achebe 36). If honor was not given to Ani, destruction from weather would kill the crops which affected overall affected status of wealth.

One of Achebe’s challenges was to illustrate the Ibo’s religious system. Even though the Ibo people had little contact with the outside world, they had developed their own beliefs and practices that became essential elements in their everyday lives. The Ibo religion played a role in the way they raised their families, communicated, entertained, and governed their society. Similar to those of the early Egyptian and Greek religions,

Different countries have people that hold many different views and beliefs. In Nigeria the Igbo area is located in the southern area of the country. And within this area is Umuofia, which is where the Ogidi tribe lives. These people have beliefs that rest strongly on religion and faith in god. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe takes a look at the life of an African tribe that has been isolated from the outer more technologically advanced world where science has become a part of religion proving that certain things live sickness are not caused by evil spirits. But the African tribe has no knowledge of this and they live in a society where there traditions, beliefs and there forms of communication differ from are own.

       According to Chinua Achebe, the religion was one of the reasons that led to the death of Okonkwo at the end. The clans of the Igbo society worshipped their gods, which made of stones and woods, differently than other religions. They had a representative for each of their goddess such as the Oracle of the Hills. The main god that they worshipped was Chukwu, who was believed had created heaven and Earth. For some people who